Trent College remembers with gratitude and affection, former President of the Old Tridents Society, John Shelton.

John was President of the Old Tridents Society from  1988 to 1995 and remained Vice President and Trustee until 2018.

Born in Sheffield in October 1936, John grew up attending the local Methodist Church with his parents. He was educated at Birkdale Preparatory School and joined the school’s Crusader Class before the family moved to Sutton in 1947, where he went on to Collingwood School and later joined Trent College. 

A keen sportsman, he played rugby and hockey and formed friendships that lasted a lifetime, especially his close friend, Kevin Gildea (Wright House 1952-1955). John’s connection to Trent remained strong, and he served the Old Tridents Society Committee for many years, eventually succeeding Kevin as President in 1988, and only stepping down from the committee in 2018.  Among his many achievements as President, John accompanied the Head Jonathan Lee on a visit to Thailand which was a successful fundraising drive to raise funds in support of building the Swallow Building, which houses the honorary named Thai Lecture Theatre.

In 1955, John completed his National Service with the Queen’s Royal Regiment. During this time, he studied banking in a correspondence course and in 1957 joined Midland Bank. His career took him from branch management in Regent Street and Manager of Shaftesbury Avenue to a senior executive role in the bank’s North European region, travelling widely across Europe including Moscow, Yugoslavia and Norway. After early retirement in 1988, he spent a further ten years as Practice Manager at Lewis & Dick Solicitors

John’s faith and sense of service were lived out in many ways, especially through his long involvement with the Abbeyfield Purley Society. What began with helping in the garden grew into over 35 years of dedicated service as Honorary Treasurer, Secretary, Trustee and Chairman. John felt richly blessed to serve the elderly residents.

Above all, John was supported and cared for by his loving wife, Gill. They were married for 64 years and blessed with two children, Sarah and Simon; four wonderful grandchildren and a great-grandson, who brought John great joy.

John Shelton (left) with Seni Pramoj (centre) and Jonathan Lee (right)